Octavia’s Brood

Have you read Octavia’s Brood yet? If not, you should. It’s “An anthology of visionary science fiction and speculative fiction written by organizers and activists.”

Scifi + social justice = <3!!!!!

I had the joy of seeing editor/author Walidah Imarisha and author Gabriel Teodros speak at the Seattle Public Library last Wednesday. Their words were so powerful, like Walidah saying “All organizing is science fiction,” and “All of us who are from oppressed communities are walking science fiction,” and Gabriel’s music performance.

“All organizing is science fiction” – Walidah Imarisha

The most common pushback I get when discussing prison abolition with majority white and upper class folks is, “We need prisons for us to be safe,” and “What about the murderers?” and sometimes “But how?”

I understand the desire for specifics and logistics, but they’re distractions.

More important right now is the vision.

Walidah talked about how we often write out a 5-year strategic plan and feel really good about laying out specific, measurable, “achievable” objectives. But we need a 100-year plan, a 500-year plan. What do we want the world to look like for generations to come?

This is what visionary scifi does for us.

There’s LOTS more here to talk about, so I’ll just point to a few resources:

Published by rickycodes

My name is Ricky Lee. I live in Chicago right now with my partner and our two cats, but will be moving in about a month to a new city.
I’ve been an urban farmer, nanny, and program coordinator for a mentorship program. I’m also an activist focused on prison abolition.
Now I’m going to become a coder.
Follow me for the fun :)
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